USDA Blog

EDITOR’S NOTE: The standards covered by this 2012 blog have been updated. Read our updated cage-free standards & egg infographic: http://blogs.usda.gov/2016/09/13/usda-graded-cage-free-eggs-all-theyre-cracked-up-to-be/ Whether you prepare them for Easter dinner or as part of a Passover Seder Plate...

Every day, thousands of local farmers and ranchers work hard to ensure that their communities have access to a diverse range of fresh, healthy affordable foods. While nutritious food is a cornerstone of society’s physical health, a vibrant community also includes sustainable economic opportunities...

Just ahead of the official start of Passover this Friday at sunset, the U.S. Department of Agriculture hosted its second Food and Justice Passover Seder. The traditional Jewish seder commemorates the Passover holiday and the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. USDA’s symbolic seder, held in...

Rebecca Blue, Acting Deputy Undersecretary for MRP; Janie Hip, Senior Advisor to the Secretary on Tribal Affairs; and Kisha Davis, White House Fellow were excited to represent USDA on the US delegation to the UN for the 56 th Commission on the Status of Women. The theme this year was the empowerment...

There have been a lot of questions over the last few years about the quality and purity of olive oil. USDA has expanded our Quality Monitoring Program to include extra virgin and organic extra virgin olive oil. This program already evaluates a variety of commodities including canned, frozen and...

March is Women’s History month, a time when we highlight everything woman. In the midst of farming and biofuels, research and forestry would you believe that the USDA also finds time to promote breastfeeding? The answer is absolutely! You already know that the agency supports a myriad of nutrition...

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from the USDA's rich science and research portfolio. As part of the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative called Feed the Future, USDA is building...

It’s been a little over two weeks since we launched the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass , which includes a multi-media PDF narrative and an accompanying interactive map. Together, they’re designed to help you navigate USDA’s grant and loan programs and learn how USDA supports the...

Cross posted from the White House blog: Three years ago, I was asked to participate in the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity, out of which grew the First Lady’s Let's Move! initiative. In May 2010, we submitted a report to the President that made a series of recommendations for addressing...

When I was a kid, my mom used to tell us to eat our breakfast because it’s the most important meal of the day. Well here we are decades later and there are studies that prove kids who aren’t hungry perform much better scholastically. In fact, a recent study from the Food Research and Action Center...